Virpi Sulosaari, President

Virpi graduated as a registered nurse in 1993, later specialising in hematology nursing. She joined the academic community after working as a registered nurse for over 10 years, mainly in hematology and cancer departments. Virpi did her masters and doctoral degree in nursing science at the University of Turku, Finland. Currently, she is a principal lecturer in the Professional Master School of Health and Well-being at Turku University of Applied Sciences, Finland and is also a post-doctoral researcher in University of Turku. Virpi is leader of research group “Advancing Supportive Cancer and Palliative Care (CARE)” in Turku UAS. Shes has several international projects, mainly in the field of education and training in oncology and advanced practice. Her fields of expertise are related to cancer nursing, palliative care and under- and postgraduate nursing education and research.

Helena Ullgren, President-Elect

Helena works as a nurse at Karolinska Comprehensive Cancer Center, Sweden. Apart from clinical work, she has a position as a leader of research and development. She has worked within cancer care since 1995, in different positions, both in- and outpatient care. Helena’s PhD focused on integration and quality of care, and her special interests are symptom management, healthcare systems and patient safety. Since December 2017 she has been a passionate member (later Co-chair) of the EONS Advocacy Working Group. One of the things she is very proud of is the work aiming to improve patient safety across Europe, for instance impacting the EU to develop better safety guidelines for handling hazardous cancer drugs. Helena wants to work to achieve further recognition of cancer nurses and the importance of developing advanced cancer nursing roles.

Johan De Munter, Past-President

Johan is currently working as a nurse manager at the University Hospital Ghent Cancer Center. He has been a registered nurse in oncology-haematology since 1999, was a member and board member of the Flemish society of cancer nurses, is a member of BHS nurses’ group and an individual member of EONS since entering the profession. He specialised and obtained a postgraduate degree in pain management and continued his studies with a postgraduate degree in oncology. In 2005, he transferred to continue in a nurse consultant role oncology/haematology/stem cell transplant and has since expanded his expertise in healthcare provision and patient education, supportive care needs, adolescents and young adults with cancer, transition and survivorship care with a focus on evidence-based cancer nursing, quality of care, advocacy and communication. He continued to specialise and completed a postgraduate certificate in Teenage/Young Adult Cancer Care at Coventry University in the UK, and later a postgraduate degree in leadership. Johan is currently a board member in the Majinhuis, a community support home for people affected by cancer. He is also a lecturer in various postgraduate courses for nurses and allied healthcare professionals. He is co-chair of the Flemish strategic AYA movement advisory group, an active member of the Belgian Haematology Society nurses committee, a member of the SIOP Europe AYA Committee, and a member of the Belgian Federal Council of Nursing. After several roles in the European Oncology Nursing Society, he became the President of the organisation in January 2021 to June 2023 and is committed to continue enhancing the field of nursing as EONS Past President.

Matthew Fowler, Board Member/EONS Treasurer

Matt graduated as a registered nurse from the university of Birmingham in 1997; he later went on to complete specialist cancer nurse training at the Royal Marsden hospital in 2000 and has continued to work in haematology and oncology nursing for the last 23 years. Matt has an MSc in Nursing and has recently embarked on doctoral studies at Duke University in North Carolina. Matt is passionate about advanced practice in cancer nursing and currently works on a triage assessment unit for both haematology and oncology patients at a cancer centre in the East Midlands. Matt has a particular interest in the management of low-risk febrile neutropenia as well as cancer associated thrombosis. Matt undertakes nurse-led clinics in both colorectal oncology and thrombosis and is a qualified non-medical prescriber of both SACT and supportive medicines as well as blood products. Matt frequently visits Palestine to support teaching of post graduate students at Bethlehem university as well as support medical aid missions to the Gaza strip.

Merel van Klinken, Board Member

Merel van Klinken graduated as a nurse in 2006. She has been working as a registered oncology nurse since 2009. She has about 15 years workexpericence in a dutch specialized cancer centre as a palliative care nurse and an oncology nurse.  Currently Merel is woking as a nursing specialist in a cancer rehabilitation centre. She holds an MSc in nursing sciences and is looking to improve the quality of palliative care in her own work setting and in the Netherlands as a whole. She’s passionate about safety for patients and nursing staff and building resilience among young cancer nurses. Merel is a member of the EONS Advocacy Working Group and is a Board Member since February 2021.

Wendy McInally, Board Member

I have built a comprehensive portfolio around children and young people with cancer which covers practice, education, and research. I am a widely recognised cancer nursing specialist and have played leading roles in developing and implementing many best practice initiatives. Currently I work for the Open University (OU) as the Associate Head of Research and Knowledge Exchange. The OU is a public research university and the largest university in the UK for undergraduate education and one of the world’s leading universities. As a previous Macmillan Cancer Nurse (UK charity provider for people living with cancer), I have a deep understanding of the ongoing need for professional education and training to support evidence-based care delivery, along with Research, Knowledge Exchange, and Scholarship.  In supporting healthcare professionals caring for people living with and beyond cancer, I strive to encourage the introduction of innovative education, research, and practice initiatives. My own areas of interest over the past few years have been around the experiences of teenagers and young people living with melanoma and their significant other.  I was the first nurse in the UK to secure a TYAC Research grant. I have been a member of the CCLG/TYAC  for over 25 years and the Society of International Oncology of Paediatrics (SIOP), and as such I am ideally placed to collaborate with colleagues from across Europe, continuing to develop cancer research, education and practice initiatives. I have been a member of EONS since 2013. During that time, I successfully secured two leadership scholarships and PhD writing retreat through EONS. I became a member of the EWG in November 2018 and Co- Chair December 2020. In January 2021 I became an Executive Board member of EONS and Led the European College for Cancer Nurses though its development and pilot stage.  I have successfully led the e-sessions for nurses delivered by the European School of Oncology (ESO) since 2018, and serve on the advisory board for ESO, regularly meeting with them to discuss and promote cancer education for nurses and other healthcare professionals. I am also a member for Accredited Council Oncology in Europe (ACOE).

Gülcan Bagçivan, Board Member

Gülcan is a Registered Nurse and has been working in cancer care since 2003 in medical oncology. She is an Associate Professor in Medical Nursing at the School of Nursing, Koç University, Istanbul/Turkiye. She obtained her PhD, MSc, and BSc from Gülhane Military Medical Academy, School of Nursing, Ankara/Turkiye. She also has a second master’s in Epidemiology from Hacettepe University, Ankara/Turkiye. Her research focuses on cancer nursing and palliative care. She has been a member of the EONS Board since June 2023 and a member of the EONS Research Working Group since 2020.

Dimitrios Protogiros, Board Member

Dimitrios is a cancer nurse and serves as a Scientific Advisor to the Ministry of Health in Greece. He completed his under- and postgraduate studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and continuing education in cancer nursing and palliative care in Greece and abroad. Dimitrios has worked in different areas of cancer nursing, such as in clinical practice and as a researcher, and was volunteer in the education of undergraduate nursing students. Since 2020, he has been involved in major national projects of the Hellenic Ministry of Health and his current focus is mainly in the reform of the National Health System, cancer and palliative care and international relations and European affairs. He is member of the National Committee for Palliative Care Development and President at the Board of Directors in the Greek Society for Paediatric Palliative Care. Dimitrios streams of interest focus on health-related issues of sexual and gender minorities with cancer (LGBTQI+); advocacy and policy; leadership in cancer and palliative care; cancer nursing specialty recognition; young professionals’ empowerment. 

Stavroula Chante, Board Member

Stavroula is originally from Greece, and she has been working in the NHS for more than 10 years, which has given her insight into different models of healthcare and made her more adaptable to country specific culture and requirements. She currently works as the Macmillan Lead Cancer Nurse within the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust in the UK, which is a pivotal, strategic role that provides expert knowledge and support and involves the responsibility of improving patient outcomes and experiences by providing strong leadership and implementing changes across the cancer services within the organization. She places great importance on diversity, equality, staff well-being and support in all settings. This means for staff to be equally recognised, valued, respected, heard, able to learn and develop. Few of the projects and strategies that she currently works on are to address and subsequently minimise the health inequalities amongst the cancer patient cohort in the West Midlands region; establish a standardised educational approach for the cancer nursing workforce; address cancer workforce challenges and develop initiatives to assist with retention and job satisfaction; foster a culture of research within the cancer nursing community. 

She also works clinically as Haematology Advanced Clinical Practitioner where she can maintain her clinical skills by assessing, reviewing, and performing procedures for haematology patients. She is also involved with academic responsibilities as Senior Lecturer, Module Leader and dissertation supervisor within Oxford Brookes University, providing teaching on haemato-oncology, chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. Stavroula is passionate and enthusiastic about empowering the cancer nursing workforce to maximize their potential and ensure that cancer patients receive high quality evidence-based care.